If you have memory to space, you can reduce I/O usage by editing the {{.vmx}} file in your VM and add the lines

{{{
mainMem.useNamedFile= "FALSE"
sched.mem.pshare.enable = "FALSE"
prefvmx.useRecommendedLockedMemSize = "TRUE"
}}}

*NOTE*: if you are using VMware Server, you may need to restart the VMware Authorization Service ({{vmware-authd}}) for changes to take effect.

See: [http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1008885]

----
[CategoryComputing.Performance]